Degree Show at National Design Centre
I was part of the space team planning our Degree show. We worked closely with the branding team to make sure our space planning was aligned with our style guide. Our space team split into several sub-groups, taking charge of various aspects of the space allocation for our graduation show. Since my background was in space design, I chose to work with the space and layout team with three of my peers. After deciding on the design direction, we chose to hold the design show at the National Design Centre (NDC) in the Central Business District, which is accessible for most design offices. After we decided on NDC, my team and I visited the space to take measurements. I proposed a few layouts and structural configurations for our graduation show booths. At the same time, I visited several design exhibitions to get more ideas on what we would have to consider for our own design show. As a group, we visited Nanyang Polytechnic’s Design show and NDC’s design exhibitions during Singapore Design Week.
The branding team’s design style was a clean grid like structure. Therefore, my space and layout team brainstormed to come up with different material choices for our booths, to find one that was sturdy and fit our budget. Therefore, my team and I agreed on hiring external vendors to create custom metal structures for us. We went sourcing for vendors to build the metal structures. The branding team informed my team that the whole cohort will be divided into four categories with different themes. Hence, we have considered the requirements such as the area to hold talks, catering and booths for our Degree show. These are some of the preliminary designs we had proposed
My team mates and I found contractors to build custom metal structures and table tops soon after. After much discussion with the Branding team and NDC representatives, we decided how much space and which category each student was given. Upon deciding this, we had to source for the rest of our furniture for the talks and lighting. Our budget constraints aggravated the situation. However, all my peers tapped into their contacts and managed to get lighting fixtures for an affordable price. We managed to settle all the necessary arrangements a couple of days prior to the show.
If I had another opportunity to plan an exhibition, I would draw up a timeline and adhere to it as closely as possible. This was something my team and I had not foreseen, as a result, we had to make many decisions on the day of the set-up. Despite experiencing some hiccups, we communicated well and finished the set-up on time. I enjoyed working with my peers on our Degree show and was proud to see our floorplan come to life.
